Shimoku naturally held great respect for Lord Madara.
But having an intimate knowledge of Madara's life, he wasn't particularly surprised at his revival.
Yet in the hearts of other Uchiha clansmen...
This legendary ancestor radiated immense greatness and brilliance.
Every ninja raised within the clan...
As children, nearly all of them had heard glorious tales about the great Uchiha clan leader, Madara.
Even during the time when many clan members pushed former clan leader Fugaku to launch an uprising,
many used the name of ancestor Madara as justification.
Such was the clan's deep reverence for this forefather.
So much so that even Itachi himself, upon hearing that such a powerful ancestor had truly returned from death, couldn't hide his intense astonishment.
"Ancestor... Madara is really back?"
"Yeah. I saw him with my own eyes. We even exchanged a few words..."
Shimoku pulled out the [Uchiha Flame War Fan] from behind and handed it to Itachi.
Itachi accepted the fan, gently stroking its surface.
He recognized it instantly. This very weapon had been the clan's fabled lost heirloom!
According to legend, it had been taken away by ancestor Madara long ago,
and had never been recovered since...
Never would they have imagined that now, this very item had returned through cousin Shimoku.
This alone was enough to confirm it — Madara, their ancient ancestor, had truly returned from the dead.
Itachi: "How strong is he exactly?"
Shimoku: "Extremely powerful! Crushing Hiruzen Sarutobi would be no harder than killing a chicken..."
"You'd probably need ten of you together to last even a minute against him."
Itachi: "..."
At this moment, Itachi felt only that cousin Shimoku seemed deliberately implying something about his weakness.
But on reflection, there was no reason for him to lie either.
If Madara truly had the strength recorded in the clan's chronicles,
then defeating him would certainly be impossible.
That much was beyond doubt...
"A person who's been dead for years actually returning to life?"
"Are there truly such miraculous jutsu in this world?"
"Amazing magic, yes. But the cost is enormous — you must literally give your life..."
As he explained, Shimoku cast a sideways glance at Konan standing on his right.
If not for Nagato being forced to sacrifice his own life, Madara wouldn't have been able to return...
He hoped she wouldn't get too upset upon hearing this.
"A trade of life itself?"
"So the price is indeed heavy..."
"Now then, what is our great ancestor doing currently?"
"And does he require anything from us?"
Itachi quickly resumed his usual stoic expression.
The resurrection of an ancestor was shocking, yes.
However, given that previous Hokages had already returned from the dead, this somehow felt more acceptable now.
Moreover, compared with the cousin Shimoku standing right before him,
even a revived ancestor from an old era felt impossibly distant.
Itachi couldn't imagine that a warlord from the Warring States era would care much for descendants separated by so many generations...
Therefore, in his opinion,
someone as straightforward as cousin Shimoku wouldn't go out of his way just for casual conversation.
Perhaps mentioning all this on purpose...
was meant to push him toward some kind of action against their ancestral ancestor?
"Not much of anything."
"However, just today, Ancestor Madara visited Konoha and engaged in a fierce battle against Hashirama Senju, destroying nearly half of the village..."
Shimoku waved his hand dismissively, placing all the blame squarely on Lord Madara's shoulders.
To be fair, five days ago,
when Akatsuki attacked Konoha and caused destruction,
he had 'slightly' participated as well.
But most of the damage was actually caused by Nagato and Hashirama themselves.
And today, to force Hashirama out into the open, Madara hadn't held back either, causing significant destruction to Konoha as well.
Taking the blame for this wasn't unreasonable...
Upon hearing this, Itachi hesitated for a moment.
He wasn't dumb—he caught on to the meaning right away.
In short:
Madara Uchiha was now at war with Konoha.
Consequently, the enmity between Konoha and their own Homuragakure would also deepen irreversibly...
After all, no matter how you looked at it,
Madara would always be Madara Uchiha—tied to the Uchiha Clan forever.
And hatreds between ninja villages wouldn't simply vanish so cleanly...
"There truly is no possibility of reconciliation anymore?"
Itachi exhaled softly, a note of sorrow in his voice.
Hearing about Konoha suffering heavy damage inevitably made him feel somewhat melancholy.
"Besides, the one currently managing Konoha's administrative affairs isn't Hashirama Senju, but Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage!"
"You should already know about his personality and policy style, right?"
"With him in charge, do you still expect Konoha to maintain peaceful relations with us?"
"What if one day our village gets attacked by Konoha?"
"Do you think Konoha will spare your family members, your beloved younger brother?"
Shimoku's mask finally slipped.
All this talking he did was meant to extinguish Itachi's final bit of attachment toward Konoha,
forcing him to completely abandon Konoha.
After all, Shimoku knew very well,
his Tsukuyomi Plan using Card Bug Activation couldn't afford any mistakes.
As the actual executor, Itachi would wield considerable autonomy.
If he still harbored fantasies about Konoha, secretly implanting pro-Konoha concepts while using Tsukuyomi illusions to stimulate clan members into developing stronger Sharingan eyes,
that would become problematic indeed.
In short, Shimoku definitely didn't want to regret anything after things were exposed.
...
Itachi remained silent for quite some time.
Then he picked up the cup on the table and poured himself a glass of watermelon juice, drinking it all in one go.
Only then did he respond solemnly:
"I understand."
"I agree to your plan."
"Don't worry—I know precisely what has to be done."
Itachi rarely made promises,
but when he did, they were as good as gold—like the one he'd made to Shisui.
Upon hearing this, Shimoku felt delighted inwardly.
He raised his glass and clinked it with Itachi's.
Drinking it all in one gulp as well.
Hm...
This watermelon juice tastes a lot sweeter today!
"Itachi: When shall we begin?"
"Shimoku: Within one week, our village's Ninja Academy will be completed."
"Enrollment, materials, class schedules—should be all set to kick off officially within a month."
"All you need to do is stabilize the effects of [Tsukuyomi] this month. At least bring the risks down as much as possible..."
Itachi chimed in, "I'll need a few test subjects..."
Once he set his mind on something, Itachi's execution skills were astounding—he had already begun identifying and filling in the gaps on his own.
"Fine, I'll get things ready."
Shimoku agreed immediately without hesitation.
After all, test materials weren't an issue—Lady Serpent had plenty to spare.
Selecting a few prisoners with serious crimes from her side would be effortless.
While the first 'high-risk trials' might be intense, the later ones will be gentle enough not to worry about.
Don't we still have a large pool of expendable personnel from Iwagakure?
He was sure Deidara would be more than happy to cooperate with the illusion experiments.
After all, he'd always longed to improve his genjutsu resistance...
And he himself didn't mind being a little helpful either.
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